What is "laser-guided bomb"

n. a smart bomb that seeks the laser light reflected off of the target and uses it to correct its descent; "laser-guided bombs cannot be used in cloudy weather" [syn: LGB]

A laser-guided bomb (LGB) is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser guidance to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. First developed by the United States during the Vietnam War, laser-guided bombs quickly proved their value in precision strikes of difficult point targets. These weapons use on-board electronics to track targets that are designated by laser, typically in the infrared spectrum, and adjust their glide path to precisely strike the target. Since the weapon is tracking a light signature, not the object itself, the target must be illuminated from a separate source, either by ground forces, by a pod on the attacking aircraft, or by a separate support aircraft.

Data from Vietnam showed that laser-guided bombs achieved direct hits nearly 50% of the time, versus just 5.5% for unguided bombs. Because of this dramatically higher precision, laser-guided munitions can carry less explosive and cause less collateral damage than unguided munitions. Today, laser-guided bombs are one of the most common and widespread guided bombs, used by a large number of the world's air forces.